Vickerman's poke ticked Thorn off
June 02 2008
A poke in the ribs caused Brad Thorn to uncharacteristically erupt and belt Dan Vickerman before he was yellow-carded in the Super 14 Final over the weekend.
Thorn's ill-discipline in the second half cost the Crusaders a crucial try to loosehead prop Wyatt Crockett, with referee Mark Lawrence disallowing the five-pointer before marching 55m back to award the Waratahs a penalty and give Thorn his marching orders.
"I sort of felt I got hit late off the ball in a ruck, in the ribcage," Thorn told The Press.
"I just had a 'moment' and gave him a bit of a whack.
"He had headgear on, though. But these days you can't do that."
Crockett's try would have put the Crusaders ahead 19-12 at a crucial part of the match.
Instead, the Waratahs kicked for the corner and set up an attacking line-out inside the home side's quarter. But the Waratahs were unable to score when the Crusaders were down to 14 men.
To see Thorn retaliate was unusual, and he had plenty of time to reflect on his actions during his time in the cooler.
"Basically I sat there for 10 minutes thinking 'what the heck am I doing there?' In the big matches it is all about discipline and focus. It's not my style," he said.
"It just seemed a bit surreal."